Corn: March corn futures rose 2 1/4 cents to $6.77 1/2 and closed near mid-range. For the week, March corn lost 5 1/2 cents. The corn bulls struggled a bit this week, failing to overcome stiff overhead resistance at the January high of $6.88 3/4 in March futures.
Soybeans: March soybeans dropped 2 1/4 cents to $15.32 but gained 22 1/2 cents on the week. March meal futures rose $4.70 to $496.50 after trading as high as $500.40, a new lifetime contract high, while March soyoil fell 188 points to 59.06 cents. Soybeans ended the week largely range-bound despite efforts by meal futures to drag the complex higher.
Wheat: March SRW wheat futures fell 4 1/4 cents at $7.56 3/4 and nearer the session low after hitting a four-week high early on today. For the week, prices rose 6 3/4 cents. March HRW futures lost 7 3/4 cents to $8.73, nearer the daily low and for the week rose 3 3/4 cents. March HRS futures slipped 3 1/4 cents to end the week at $9.21 1/2. That was unchanged from last Friday. It appears the winter wheat bulls stabilized their markets the past three weeks.
Cotton: March cotton slipped 96 points to 85.43 cents and is down 126 points on the week. Cotton futures fell under pressure as persisting weakness in crude oil futures, coupled with a skyrocketing U.S. dollar from an over 9-month low after stronger-than-expected jobs data.
Cattle: Expiring February live cattle futures rose 52.5 cents to $160.275 while most-active April ended the week at $164.125, up 30 cents on the day and up $3.30 on the week. March feeder futures gained 17.5 cents to close at $186.10; that represented a weekly advance of $2.575. Cattlemen and packers apparently stuck to their guns through Thursday, with only a few animals having changed hands during the first four days of the week.
Hogs: Nearby February lean hog futures slid 32.5 cents to $75.025 Friday, while most-active April climbed 47.5 cents to $86.475. That represented a weekly rise of 2.5 cents. The cash hog market has seemingly bottomed, but the recovery is proving quite slow.